Tommy Wright: Mickelson struggles to stay in contention

A fter shooting 3 under on the back nine at Spyglass Hill Golf Course to start his day, it appeared as if Phil Mickelson was primed to climb atop the leader board and take control of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Friday.

But Mickelson's putting problems continued on from the first round. After putting a little too much into a birdie attempt on the first hole that would have placed him one stroke behind the leaders, Mickelson went on to bogey three of the next four holes. At 2 under for the tournament, he finds himself with a group of other players that will need to step it up on Saturday to find themselves in contention in the final round.

"If I play a good round tomorrow, and I feel like I'm not far off, I will hopefully put myself in position where a good round on Sunday can get the job done," Mickelson said.

While he rallied back from six shots back on Sunday last year, Mickelson can't count on replicating that performance two years in a row.

Like Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker heads to Pebble Beach Golf Links on Saturday. Unlike Mickelson, Snedeker is tied with Ted Potter Jr. in first place at 8 under. The 32-year-old was one of six players to post a bogey-free round on Friday. He said playing Pebble Beach on back-to-back days should be beneficial.

"I think if anything, we have an advantage seeing the course two days in a row and seeing how the course is playing," Snedeker said. "The greens, we'll know how they're bouncing."

After finishing second the past two weeks, Snedeker is the player to beat. Despite being the runner-up, Snedeker said he took nothing but positives from the past two tournaments.

"That's how you win out here; you keep putting yourself in position, and the more times you do, the more success you're going to have," Snedeker said.

Hunter Mahan put himself in a good position on Thursday with a 6-under 66 at Pebble Beach. He had plenty of chances to maintain his lead, but he ended up 1 under on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

"I just couldn't make putts," he said.

Mahan, 30, heads into Saturday one stroke behind the leaders at 7 under overall. He said the rain Thursday night and Friday morning was a factor in how MPCC played during the second round.

"(It's) hard to tell how the wind is going but it's so cold and the ball just doesn't go that far," Mahan said. "And it was soft."

Weather shouldn't play as much of a role on Saturday. The forecast calls for mostly sunny skies, but it will be cold with wind around 10 mph. Conditions should be similar on Sunday, which would add to the advantage of the players that will be at Pebble Beach both days.

While the weather shouldn't be a major factor, playing at Pebble Beach in front of bigger and traditionally rowdier crowds could be a distraction for Mickelson and Snedeker. With Tiger Woods absent, Mickelson was the biggest attraction at MPCC on Thursday and Spyglass Hill on Friday. Snedeker's grouping is right behind Mickelson and four spots in front of the group that includes 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh.

But, as Snedeker points out, the most important thing is to remain in good position for Sunday.

"That's my M.O., (do) not do anything stupid," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't do it very often."